My Record Collection by Public Service Broadcasting's J. Willgoose Esq.

In My Record Collection, we dig down to the bottom of musicians' souls to find out what the most treasured parts of their record collection are. This week, it's the turn of electro experimentalists Public Service Broadcasting mainman J. Willgoose Esq., let's see what he chooses...

You can check out some of J. Willgoose Esq.'s picks in this playlist...

The first record I ever bought with my own money was…

"I really struggle to remember this as I can’t work out who bought what in our house, but I do clearly remember seeing Nik Kershaw’s The Works on cassette in a petrol garage and getting very excited. I think I might’ve had to ask my dad to buy it though. Let’s just say it’s Nik – I’m not ashamed. The opposite, in fact!"

The record that made me want to be in a band was…

"Definitely Maybe by Oasis. Hearing the opening bars of Bring It On Down and Supersonic – that was excitement as a 14 year old. My brother and I both got guitars for Christmas that year and I spent the next two years learning everything I could by Oasis, then the Manics, then Radiohead..."

The record I've played more than any other is…

"I strongly suspect it’s actually In Rainbows by Radiohead. If I’m ever uncertain about what to listen to, on the tube for example, I tend to gravitate towards it. It’s such a great album."

The record that always make me feel good is…

"Off The Wall by Michael Jackson. Perfection."

The record I turn to when I'm feeling down is…

"I’m feeling down approximately 75% of the time so this is pretty much the majority of my record collection! I really love the final The Walkmen album though, there’s something really poignant about it, especially Line By Line."

The record I think is the most underrated of all time is…

"I like to think I’ve been single-handedly reviving (if it ever needed it) the legacy of Toto’s Rosanna. I feel like everyone I’ve played it to in recent times has had the same realisation I had when I heard it again recently – what a brilliant, brilliant record. I think Toto are a bit of a joke band for a lot of people because of 'Africa' and that terrible line about the Serengeti, but Rosanna is just such a perfect pop song and I don’t feel they get the respect they deserve for it."

The record with my favourite cover art is…

"I really love the cover photography from the London Is The Place For Me series – reissues of (mostly) calypso recordings from the 50s and 60s. The photos are very evocative of a particular era."

The record with my favourite title is…

"I like relatively simple titles.. Low by Bowie is probably up there. Young Team by Mogwai is another personal favourite."

The record I can't understand why everybody loves is…

"I don’t like to be negative about other people’s music (in public, anyway!) as we’re all really trying to do the same thing.. but everything I’ve listened to by Kanye West has left me very cold."

The last record I bought was…

"Boombox – Early Independent Hip Hop, Electro and Disco from Sounds of the Universe. Needless to say, it’s great, although some of the songs could use a little editing (they’re all about 6 minutes long!)."

The record I'm most looking forward to hearing in 2016 is…

"I would’ve said Radiohead, but they finally got around to releasing it. I’m eager to hear the new Wild Beasts record."

The greatest record of all time is…

"That’s too tough a question. My current favourite would probably be David Bowie’s Low. I love the audacity of it."

Public Service Broadcasting release The Race For Space / Remixes on June 17th. It is available to pre-order on the right-hand side of the page.